by Fred Brewer | Aug 1, 2019 | Client Tips
You’re proud of yourself. You looked past the stereotypes and hired a millennial. And you did what a lot of business owners do: you put your token millennial in charge of managing your business’s social media accounts.
But is the office millennial really the best person for the job?
Sure, they might know how to navigate all of the platforms better than you do. But there’s more to nailing social media than just getting familiar with the platforms. If you put a millennial in charge of your business’s social media just because of their age, here are five questions to ask yourself to determine if you’ve made the right choice:
- Do they know my audience? Your millennial employees may know everything there is to know about Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and Snapchat, but do they know your audience? The only way social works for businesses is if it connects with your customers. And in order to connect, you have to know the people you’re attempting to connect with. You have to know their likes, their dislikes, their values, their pains, their wants, their needs, etc. If you go out there and start posting without considering who your audience is and what will resonate with them, you risk offending them, excluding them, or even worse, disengaging them. The moment you lose their trust or attention, you’ve failed. So make sure your social media manager intimately knows, not just the social media platforms they’ll be using, but also the audience they’ll be engaging with.
- Do they know my brand? If there’s one thing people hate about brands on social media, it’s when they’re inconsistent or do things that don’t align with who the brand is and what it stands for. When you do things that don’t make sense for your brand or you contradict yourself on social media, the results can be disastrous. Your customers will know and they will comment when you appear to take a stand for something in a post that doesn’t align with your company and its values. So before you put someone in charge of your social media just because they’re digital natives, make sure they know your brand inside and out and can effectively represent you on all channels.
- What is their grasp of CTAs (calls to action)? The point of social media is to engage with your customers and potential customers. It’s not a one-sided conversation or a way to shout at your audience. But in order to engage, build relationships, and see a return on your investment in social media, you need to have clear, concise, effective CTAs on your posts. A lot of brands nail this by asking questions or urging people to take specific actions or click the link in their bio. But all CTAs are not equal, and your social media manager needs to have a good understanding of what works and what doesn’t. Don’t assume that your office millennial is nailing the CTAs — that’s not a given just because you “get” social media.
- Do they know regulations and what to avoid for legal reasons? Social media can get you into a lot of trouble if you do it wrong. You could lose customers or even be sued or fined. Each platform has its own rules and regulations, and there’s a lot to consider in terms of how to use each platform and what to say/not say. Is your millennial social media manager familiar with these rules and regulations or are you just assuming they know what to do/what not to do because they’re socially savvy? Assuming is a bad call and could put your business at risk of a lawsuit, fine, or other issue, so make sure they have a good understanding of this important aspect of social media.
- What are their intentions? At the end of the day, your social media manager should be connecting with your customers and making your brand look better. Is that the goal of the office millennial you’ve put in charge of your social? Think about it: How good will your social media manager’s decisions be if he or she is only using your business’s platform to solidify his or her place as an influencer? Hey, it’s happened. We’ve seen it. So make sure you and your social media manager are aligned in terms of the goals, purpose, and intentions behind your social media decisions and actions.
Have You Picked The Right Person For The Job?
Your office millennial may be a great fit for the social media manager role, but it’s not a given. Take the time to really consider whether or not you’ve put the right person in place or if you need to spend some time reconsidering or educating your social media manager. Being a millennial does make the social media game a little bit easier — but it’s not a guarantee for success. There’s more to that recipe!
by Fred Brewer | Mar 15, 2018 | Client Tips
Thinking of launching a business or product? You’d be surprised how many vital steps get missed by the dreamers and schemers. You know what they say: love is blind. When you’re really attached to an idea, maybe even in love with it, there are things you overlook. Unfortunately, these can be pretty big things.
So if you’re thinking of launching a business or product, save yourself time, hassle, and frustration, and do these six things before you invest a ton of time and effort.
- Make sure there’s a market. You may be in love with your idea, but if there’s no market for it, it may be better left in your idea journal. Do some quick market research, ask around, do a Google search for similar products and businesses, and see if people want or need what you have to offer. Doing this upfront can save you a ton of time and money and keep you from investing your resources in something that’s not going to do well.
- Come up with a list of names. The name of your business or product is so important and will set the tone and give a first impression of your business. Choose wisely! We’re in the age of information overload. If your potential customer or consumer can’t glance at the name or see it in passing and know something about what the company or product is or what it does, they’re not going to go out of their way to investigate further. Your name should be easy to understand, convey something relevant, and pique the curiosity. If your name is something completely irrelevant or non-descriptive, even if you think it’s cute or catchy, it’s probably not going to be memorable or effective.
- Google the names you’ve come up with. There are few ‘creative’ and ‘unique’ business names in the home services industry. Whatever your industry, make sure you Google the name ideas you have before falling in love. If you’ve slapped your first name in front of the words “chimney services,” “plumbing services,” etc., you’d better be sure there isn’t a business in your area with a similar business name or you’ll have a whole host of nightmares once your business is launched.
- Check the availability of the domain name. Even if you’re not 100% sure which name you want to go with yet, go to godaddy.com and check the availability of the domain names for each of your ideas. If they’re available, buy them right then and there. If they’re not, scratch the names off your list unless you’re willing to pay top dollar to buy them from someone. Most available domain names cost around $12, and even if you’ve only whittled down your list to five and can’t make up your mind, the cost to buy all five domain names will be a lot less than the cost of wasted hours because you didn’t check the availability of the domain name before you fell in love and started branding.
- Check the availability of the social handles. Almost as important as the availability of the domain name for your new business or product is the availability of the social handles. Go to Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, etc. and make sure the handles for your new business or product idea are available. The last thing you want is to have inconsistency across your social platforms or some impossible to remember or figure out handle, all because you didn’t check to see if the one you wanted was taken on each of the major social platforms.
- Talk with others in your trusted circle. Remember our earlier conclusion: love is blind. When you’re in love with a product or business idea, you may miss things, important things — that’s why it’s a good idea to involve others early and get their input. Different people in different age groups with different perspectives who are less attached to the idea than you are may see things you don’t or think of things you overlook in the excitement. If you bring trusted people in early in the game, it will only save you time and frustration. After all, two heads (or three or four) are better than one.
Thinking of starting a service business? Ask yourself these 5 questions first…
by Linda Roydhouse | Jul 30, 2017 | Client Tips
Do you have a personal Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram account? Well, so do most of your current customers and future customers. What better way to grow your business than by connecting with those customers through social media? Social media also allows your business to connect with other local businesses, which is always a plus.
A wise group of people, The Spark Marketer Crew, enlightened me on the important role social media has in branding your business, increasing web traffic to your company website, and making your online presence stronger. It just makes sense. Social media plays a major role in businesses today because most customers do their research on a business via their computers and smartphones before they make that call.
Our company has been using social media for years and it has been a great tool for us for building relationships with other businesses and customers. We started off using Facebook, then added Twitter and Instagram. These social media platforms allow us and our customers to engage with each other on a regular basis, not only when our services are needed.
Don’t be afraid to try social media for your business, but remember, it takes time and commitment for it to grow — but it’s all worth it.
Here are a few tips to get you started:
- Don’t use your personal account — have a separate social media account for your business.
- There are many social media platforms to choose from, so choose the one you feel the most comfortable with. In my opinion, Facebook is the easiest.
- You need to post daily on each of the platforms you choose and always have an image with your post.
- Keep it professional, but fun. Share repair work photos, employee work anniversaries or birthdays, helpful tips that you or your customers would enjoy, etc. Mix it up!
- Like and share the posts of others.
- Don’t always try to sell something — it’s social media. You need to find a balance between business and popularity and use the platform to be social.
Social Media for business is necessary if you want to stay in front and grow your company, but it takes time and commitment. Stick with it! Your Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram followers will be people who know your company and have most likely done business with you in the past. Use social media to show them who you are and what you’re about and to build relationships, turning one-time customers into long-term fans. These are the customers who are going to tell their friends about you!
Linda Roydhouse is co-owner of Clean Sweep of Anne Arundel County and offers social media management tools, tips, and consulting services to other business owners through Roydhouse Effect. Check her out!
by Fred Brewer | Oct 15, 2016 | Client Tips
Mick Jagger sings the above sentiment in the Rolling Stones’ song ‘Shattered,’ written back in the 1970’s. It is just as relevant now when teaching social media to others, not just the ‘how’ but the ‘why.’ (Once you grasp the ‘why,’ the ‘how’ gets a lot easier.)
What is a cocktail party but social gathering, with the goal to meet other people and get to know them better? In terms a business owner can easily understand, it’s networking. It’s connecting with people and entities with whom you’d like to do business.
Like a large cocktail party, social media’s multiple channels can be dauntingly vast and off-putting. What makes it worth staying and mingling are the aforementioned connections, as well as social media’s ability to help establish your business’s presence locally and on the internet. Yup, we said it – your internet presence, i.e. ranking on search engines. I see we have your attention.
With most social media channels your posts will get indexed by search engines, alerting them that you are active and relevant. If you are more relevant than your local competition, who do you think will rank higher on someone’s internet search for your services in your service area? This is good stuff.
But how does it all work? Do you HAVE to be on every social media channel out there? One does not have to be active on every channel. Presence on three to four social media networks is the norm. Find the ones with which you are most comfortable and dabble.
Here are 4 tips to help you get the most out of your social media efforts…
#1 Find Your Voice
Think about how you want your brand to be presented. Who is the best person to represent the voice of your company? It’s you or a trusted member of your staff. Can others do the job for you? Certainly you receive enough spam email and robo calls hawking these services, but it is a step removed. And though it can be crisp ,it is not as authentic as your own voice. Find your voice.
#2 Find Your Medium
Do you take video at your business? YouTube, Google Posts, and Facebook/Instagram stories are for you. Do you like taking photos on the job and around town? 
Instagram, Facebook, Google Posts, and Pinterest are great opportunities to share. Don’t forget Twitter. You’ve got options!
Don’t think you have the time to make it work? A smart phone can record a photo and a moment for later posting, either sitting in the passenger seat heading towards the next job, at the office after work, or later after dinner at home. Both paid and free tools exist to help with scheduling so you can get work done ahead of time and remove some of the pressure.
#3 Find Your Flow
Presenting your latest offer or deal repeatedly on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram is not ‘doing social media.’ It is a part – you get partial credit for that. For full credit, you also need to follow other accounts, share some of their posts, like some of their posts, and comment occasionally. It’s interacting. It’s being social. How do you enjoy listening to that one person at a party who talks incessantly about themselves? You likely find yourself looking for the door or hoping for a rescue text or phone call. Don’t make your customers feel that way.
#4 Find Your Sweet Spot
Sure it involves a little trial and error – after all, what works for one company may not work for another – but social media is a must. Figure out what works for your business and what engages your customers – find your sweet spot.
Social media for business is a little like a great chili recipe. There are dozens of viable and successful ways to do it right. The most important thing being: you are the one directing the kitchen.
